Question

Two ships are near a buoy in the open ocean. One ship is 20 km due north of the buoy, and the other ship is 13.5 km due east of the buoy.

Enter a number in the box to correctly complete the statement. Round the answer to the nearest tenth.
The distance between the two ships is____km.

Answer 1

24.1

Step-by-step explanation:

took the test :')

Answer 2

The answer is 24.1 km.

Step-by-step explanation:
We want to find the diagonal distance between ship 1 and ship 2, which can be done using the Pythagorean Theorem. The Pythagorean Theorem states that in a right triangle, a^2 + b^2 = c^. Ship 1 will be a, while ship 2 will be b. We now need to plug in the numbers into the Pythagorean theorem equation (Ship 1 is 20 km, and ship 2 is 13.5 km.)

a^2 + b^2 = c^2

(20)^2 + (13.5)^2 = c^2

Now we solve the equation:

1) Find 20 squared and 13.5 squared ( 20 x 20 + 13.5 x 13.5)
400 + 182.25 = c^2

2) Combine like terms (add 400 to 182.25)
582.25 = c^2

3) To isolate c, we need to do the opposite of squaring, which is radical. (The radical of 582.25 is 24.1 rounded to the nearest tenth)
C = 24.1